Feb. 15--Someone appears to have struck back at a billboard company at the center of a controversy over illegally trimmed trees in Silver Lake.
Last month, neighborhood residents denounced the advertising firm Outfront Media for cutting back several street trees that had blocked views of its billboard next door.
The pruning job, performed without the required city permits by a company hired by Outfront, was so severe that three of the nine trees will need to be replaced, activists said.
Outfront Media says it fired the landscaping company for failing to obtain permits.
But activists have continued to criticize the firm and on Sunday, the company's rooftop sign had been altered to show a new and unauthorized message: "Outfront Media HACKED our TREES so you can read this billboard."
It was not clear who was responsible for the protest message, which appears on a banner strapped to Outfront Media's billboard. The banner greeted runners participating in Sunday's Los Angeles Marathon -- and covered up an existing ad promoting the event.
An Outfront Media executive called the incident unfortunate, saying his firm had not authorized anyone to change the billboard, which stands atop the El Condor restaurant on Sunset Boulevard.
"We don't condone trespassing or vandalism," said Ryan Brooks, the company's senior vice president of government affairs.
Brooks said his company is still trying to come to a resolution with the city over the unpermitted work on the trees. However, he declined to say whether he agrees with residents who call the tree trimming work a "hatchet job."
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, who represents the area, has described the tree trimming as "an act of vandalism."
Meanwhile, several of O'Farrell's constituents have asked for the city to file a criminal case against Outfront Media.
Follow @DavidZahniser for what's happening at Los Angeles City Hall.
